The health care system as it stands today is plagued with excessively long patient wait times due to primary care provider shortages, high costs and incomplete insurance coverage. Will the high costs of health care drive Americans to access health care from foreign providers in the future?
According to the Agency For Healthcare Research and Quality, the implementation of key driving factors of improved outcomes will see all major providers; physicians, insurance companies, Health Coaches and the consumer working together to improve the quality of the health care system as a whole.
The health care system has always primarily focused on discovering treatments and cures for disease—not on preventing disease but, with lifestyle related diseases such as obesity, diabetes type 2, and heart disease being coined the public health challenge of the 21st century, the focus will undoubtedly have to change.
Along with a growing emphasis on ‘whole person’ care integrated with mental and physical health and a focus on individualised approaches, this brings the power of prevention into the equation and Health Coaches are rapidly filling this void in the current health care system
Lack of physical exercise and poor nutrition are modifiable health risk behaviours and with the assistance of a Health, the Coach Trust for America’s Health estimates that an investment of $10 per person per year in community-based programs run by wellness professionals and Health Coaches tackling physical inactivity, poor nutrition, and smoking could yield more than $16 billion in medical cost savings annually within 5 years.
Recent reports from the online medical resource, Medscape which features data from more than nineteen thousand doctors in twenty six specialities shows that between seven and thirteen minutes is the average time a Doctor spends with each patient, a common complaint is that busy doctors spend little time helping a patient make better dietary choices but are trained to treat illnesses and ailments in accordance to pharmacological protocol. Patients leave frustrated and without the necessary tools to create long lasting lifestyle changes.
It is essential to have a coordinated, strategic prevention approach that promotes healthy behaviours which is one of the core philosophies at The Institute For Integrative Nutrition, the worlds largest Health Coaching school. A Health Coach is a supportive mentor and wellness authority who works with clients to help them feel their best through food and lifestyle changes. Instead of prescribing one diet or way of exercising, Health Coaches tailor individualised wellness programs to meet their clients' needs.
Technology also has an important role in advancing the goals of the health care system in the US, continuity of care to patients other than primary health care providers is now a reality due to secure platforms and apps connecting patients with their personal health coach and health care team without having to leave the comfort of their homes.
Patients are also customers and they are becoming much smarter in how they shop for healthcare, where they go for treatment, and who and what places provide the best service. This is where individuals are also defining the business of healthcare like never before. Healthcare in the age of the internet and social media has them shopping around for their health needs. As a result, hospitals, doctors and wellness professionals that deliver results and value are going to be rewarded by the marketplace in the future.
Emma is a travelling Health Coach, host of the ‘Some Day’ to ‘Nailed It’ podcast and storyteller on two wheels. You can find entertaining articles and updates over here.